Why do shocks on bikes last 1/5 the time they do on cars and cost eight times more?

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Why do shocks on bikes last 1/5 the time they do on cars and cost eight times more?

I'm really curious about this. I suspect many of us ride around on shocks that are past their prime and we just don't notice. When faced with replacement - often because they have started to leak in my case - we're told to go with the 'good stuff' in the aftermarket world and face a $1700 tab...or even more..to replace and upgrade two shocks.

A set of two shocks and two struts for my BMW cage can be done for $400 installed! And the OE stuff on my car will easily last 100,000 miles.

The more limited a market, the greater the cost to bring a product to market. And shocks for bikes vary greatly between various bike brands, applications within brands and even personal preferences. If someone can find a good cheap shock at sears with the right mounts, length, adjustability, compression, for an airhead, I'm sure they sell a couple dozen, maybe. Imagine removing all cars from our highways and byways for enough time to see "all" the motorcycles. there aren't that many of us out there, thus limited market.

I am not sure, whether mc shocks last 1/5 of car shocks. You most certainly feel a bad shock easier and thus earlier on a mc than a car. You would be surprised how many people drive around in their car with bad shocks.
As fara s pricing is concerned, you have to compare apples and apples. You can buy a set of shocks for a dual shock bike for $300.-. For a car you are just buying the damper part, not the complete strut.
Now, if you look at a single rear shock from ?ûhlins, that's a different story. But then again, a set of coilover, double adjustment shocks for my Corvette is $2,500.-

Motorcycle shocks are typically more sophisticated than what one would find on their North American sedan. Gas charged, deflected washer, aluminum bodied, with specific valving shocks for the bike versus an automotive mild steel, damper rod, non-adjustable style for many cars.

"THE MAN" wants to keep bikers down by overcharging for shocks and tires designed to wear out before the fist plug change. My HD buds realized this and invested in trailers for their bikes. Now they wear out the trailer tires and shocks and not their bikes. BRILLIANT!

For those of us who don't use motorcycles as a lifestyle accessory, this is incorrect. As opposed to my truck, my motorcycles have paid for themselves in fuel efficiency alone.

and all so true in the 2nd & 3rd worlds of course where bikes(with & w/o engines) are the travel machines and- those people are not buying pricey shocks like some here

"If I had my life to live over, I'd dare to make more mistakes next time...I'd relax,I'd limber up... I would take fewer things seriously...take more chances... take more trips...climb more mountains...swim more rivers...eat more ice cream." Jorge Luis Borges at age 85.

We're NOT alone;

Been in a 4X4 shop lately, or see what those jacked up 4X rigs put on. Its quite easy to see their suspensions, as its right in your face. I imagine they spend as much as my bikes total value in some cases? I just got 2200$ worth of Ohlins on my GSA and took my huge pain PILL, before I took the plunge. Its a topic, makes me kinda sick spending that much. Good question, cannot be answered well enough to satisfy my sink hole in my bank account. Randy

For those of us who don't use motorcycles as a lifestyle accessory, this is incorrect. As opposed to my truck, my motorcycles have paid for themselves in fuel efficiency alone.

No need to be defensive--my post describes the industry and its perception of the majority of its customers. While you may feel differently about your "lifestyle" that doesn't change the pricing of parts and accessories for motorcycles. Of course "fuel alone" costs the same per gallon for bikes and your truck. Cost of tires per mile ... something else again.